The Kensington Dome at the Norman Lockyer Observatory is a Grade II listed building in the East Devon local planning authority area, England. First listed on 6 July 1984. Observatory. 2 related planning applications.
The Kensington Dome at the Norman Lockyer Observatory
- WRENN ID
- winding-eave-auburn
- Grade
- II
- Local Planning Authority
- East Devon
- Constituency
- Honiton and Sidmouth MP: Richard Foord (LD)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 6 July 1984
- Type
- Observatory
- Address
- The Kensington Dome at the Norman Lockyer Observatory, Salcombe Hill, Sidmouth, EX10 0NY
- OS grid reference
- SY 138 882
- Coordinates
- 50.68783, -3.22037
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
The Kensington dome at the Norman Lockyer Observatory is an observatory dome built around 1912. It has a diameter of 6 meters and is constructed from concrete blocks, topped with an aluminium dome. The structure features two light casement windows and an entrance extension with a boarded door. It was designed to house twin equatorial 225mm refractors made by Thomas Cooke, intended for research on the spectra of novas.
Local climate
The Kensington Dome at the Norman Lockyer Observatory receives an average of 780 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 61% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 73% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 19 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 80% of listed buildings. Of these, 6 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
More on this building
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- No EPC on record for this property
- No sale records on file
- Related listed building consents — 2 applications
- Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
- Flood risk assessment
- Radon risk assessment
- Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
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